Batik art is a resist method of dyeing and decorating fabric. A resist is anything that cannot allow dyes through. I use hot wax as my resist on cotton fabric. It's about patience which in the end is rewarded as the wax is removed and the masterpiece is revealed. This page shows this journey, my journey in batik. Enjoy

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After 5 months of silk scarves, I've began on working on my big goal of making garments out of my batik art. These are some of the ideas I've worked on. The first 2 ideas are inspired by the colorful way that Ugandan baskets are made, I'm trying to fuse this art into a fashion product. Actually I have the same approach as the basket weavers do ie making a plan of how different colors will follow along one repeated line. The third idea involved the use of dots as I waxed.

In this batik, I was inspired by the view outside our house. There's a place near us on a hill with new housing and one thing is common aon all these houses; the shiny iron roofing and red brick walls, no plaster. The whole hill is dotted with these similar looking houses. When I went up there, I found people seated outside their homes talking about all kind of gossip including the recent power outages that have hit the country, although none of the houses was connected to the grid. Another thing that caught my attention was the rows of flower gardens that lined the road all around me. This batik portrays new neighbourhoods that are cropping up everywhere within 10kms from the capital city, Kampala.

About Me

I discovered batik in secondary school after seeing a man drying colorful African women drawings done on fabric near our school. I discovered that before hanging his wet pictures on the line, he could heat something on a charcoal stove (wax). A lot of smoke came off it as he dipped a brush in it. His hand kept on moving at an incredible speed to and from the heated liquid to the white fabric on the table. I decided to visit him about learning how to paint. He chased me away saying if he teaches me, I will copy his style. After several failed attempts to let me learn, I decided to put into practice the few things I had seen him doing. That is how I started batik since then in 1997.
I work from my house located 15kms outside Kampala, Uganda's capital city. I have done many exhibitions in Uganda and around the world. I also teach batik to children above 10years and adults.I'm inspired by nature, I love butterflies, birds and trees. I did a lot of drawing during childhood in the dust using sticks. I could spend many hours in the dust alone as my siblings played games. I thank God for the people who have supported and continue to support me in this long batik journey.